Life and death
by JamieCavanaugh
Summary: So it's just an ordinary day in Camelot, chores, meetings, hunts, etc. But nothing is ever, 'normal' for long. When Merlin meets a girl in the forest, he senses something's a little off. Who is she and what does she have to do with Merlin fulfilling his destiny? DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! THE STORY WON'T GET BETTER OTHERWISE :D
1. Chapter 1

Kyra was exhausted. She needed a vacation. A nice place with sand and sun, she thought longingly. The chilly air surrounded her, causing her to lift up the collar on her bright magenta cloak. She smiled, remembering the shocked faces of her office co-workers when she arrived at the Christmas party, sporting her favorite pair of jeans, a flowing shirt and her magenta jacket, lighting up the place with her loud, casual clothes in contrast to the stiff black dresses and sleek jackets. She did love making statements.

Loving being different, Kyra did her best to stand out from the crowd, whether it was through her stubborn behavior, her short temper, her random comments and observations, sudden bursts of profound depth or just breaking away from social conventions. Why? She was born that way.

Even when she was young, Kyra knew she was different. Going down the familiar streets, she allowed herself to get swept away in memories.

* * *

_"What are you doing? Stop!" A five-year-old Kyra screeched at her older brother who sat in the driveway with a magnifying glass, burning ants._

"What? They're just ants! They don't matter! Besides, I don't actually burn them completely." He replied, with a hint of exasperation. Kyra was always doing things like this, interrupting his fun.

_"No! You can't! Please stop!" She wailed loudly, collapsing on the ground. Her brother panicked. His mum would kill him if she knew. He crouched next to his sister, feeling a pang of annoyance, soon replaced by one of regret on seeing her red face, streaked with tears. "I'm sorry. I'll stop." He said simple, awkwardly leaving her._

_Once certain he was gone, Kyra stood up, an angry look immediately replacing the hurt one. She marched over to the pile of ants, wiping away the fake tears. She always did know how to manipulate people. She crouched down and whispered to them. "Please forgive my brother. He doesn't understand. He doesn't know. She said softly. "Leave and don't return." As if on command, the ants immediately ran._

_"I will always help you, because you . . ." Young Kyra stopped. She didn't know why she would help them, who or even why she would have to, but she knew she would._

* * *

"And I always will." She whispered into the night air with strong determination. "It is my purpose. My destiny. Forever."


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin felt his eyes closing. He knew he had to pay attention to the meeting, never know when something of importance might be mentioned but when the same old speech began regarding taxes, Merlin knew that Arthur himself would have blocked the Lord out. Merlin forced his eyes to open, trying to focus on what he was seeing but after three days of little to no sleep, he had pretty much given up. He spent every free moment with his eyes closed. When busy, he tried his best to make do with blinking, finding a bit of relief in it.

It was the nightmares. They came out of the blue and consumed him night and day. He wanted to tell Gaius but he feared that these were no ordinary dreams. They could not be cured with simple sleeping drafts. They had to be premonitions, being both incredibly detailed and vague at the same time. He closed his eyes, seeing them again. He heard voices; all were identical, yet they could not have been more different.

* * *

_She screamed! _

_Who? _

_Never mind!_

_Save her!_

_It hurts!_

* * *

Images flew back and forward. A young woman, fallen to the ground. Her face, it was there, but it wasn't. It was familiar, as though he had always known it, but at the same time, it was a stranger.

A gold goblet fell, spilling its red, sticky contents.

Chains. She pulls. Nothing.

* * *

_Help me! Please._

* * *

Fire, great flames consuming everything.

Fire. But it's different. It's warm, kinder.

It's gone out.

It's cold. The girl shivers.

Merlin himself, shouting out at the heavens. Wings.

Arthur, lying down, bleeding.

* * *

_Stop!_

_Merlin!_

* * *

The voice from his memories and Arthur's angry one chimed together perfectly.

"Really Merlin, you could at least pretend to care about Camelot." He said, exasperated.

"I do care about Camelot." Merlin replied, shaking himself out of his daydream.

"Sure you do. I could tell by your closed eyes. Anyway, I believe that now is the time for you to start your chores. So, just the usual, clean my room, polish my armor, clean the clothes, and check on the horses. Get them ready; we have that hunting trip tomorrow, in case you forgot, which I know you did. And I am certain that Gaius has plenty of work for you. He was just mentioning how that leech tank of his required immediate cleaning." Arthur completed, expecting a quick retort from Merlin before he went off to the tavern, ignoring his work as usual. Arthur'd probably have to find George to do it. Not that he'd be far.

"Yeah, sure. I'd better be off then." Merlin replied quickly, it a bit of a daze. He rushed out of the room before Arthur could comment on his behavior. He had to talk to someone. The Dragon.

* * *

"Young warlock, what led you to have meeting in broad daylight?" Kilgharrah asked at once.

"I've been having these dreams-" Merlin began, pausing to wonder if he was worrying too much about this. Seeing the dragon's expression, he decided to trust in himself. So he told the dragon everything, describing the dreams in as much detail as he could. To his and Kilgharrah's dismay, he was unable to describe the girl at all.

"Merlin, you were right to come to me, although I am afraid I cannot give you much insight. I must admit that I am at a loss to explain it completely. But so much is clear to me: it is indeed showing you a time yet to come and for you to be having visions of this is perhaps a sign that you and this woman's destiny may meet. I must warn you though. The fact that you have been gifted with these visions leads me to believe that Morgana must have seen them as well as great potential lies in her. Be wary of her, for it worries me that this even that is yet to come may prove to be an obstacle in you fulfilling your destiny."

Merlin's head jerked up. "What do you mean? Could this girl be dangerous?"

"What should I do?" Merlin yelled up as Kilgharrah flew up, leaving more questions in his head than Merlin had had to start with.


	3. Chapter 3

Guys, please remember to review because it makes me really happy. when there is nothing new . . . a little part of me dies. I want to know if people actually will read the story. And I think I'm mean't to say this. MERLIN DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. ONLY KYRA AND ANY OTHER CHARACTER THAT I MAY HAVE INVENTED ARE MINE. MINE I TELL YOU!

First time I've don't that. It looks weird but oh well ;) Enjoy the story and REVIEW! (Wooohooooo! Chapters are getting longer!)

* * *

Kyra's slim frame fell on her king sized bed. Her long brown hair framed her long face as she closed her eyes, trying to get the exhaustion to leave her body. Sure, the party had been fun and entertaining but towards the end, it was just her, the only sober one left, driving people home and getting them safely into taxis. Her sleepy gaze fell upon the walls of her room, to anyone else, painted painfully bright colors of yellow, red and purple. Her room itself was a mess. A mess that Kyra loved and refused to get rid of. She knew exactly where everything was and enjoyed it's comfy feel. Though she was not sure of the fake zebra skin beanbag chair.

She somehow managed to pull herself off the bed and dragged herself to her oversized kitchen. It was all wood panel work and it had always been a fear for her of it catching fire. The kitchen was never used for anything useful, mainly her failed attempts to cook fancy deserts or make fruity drinks. It would always fly everywhere, messing us the entire kitchen. Today, however, she was way too tired to even consider making a mess to she just headed to the fridge and grabbed a croissant; she always kept her kitchen well stacked with those.

She looked around the house and suddenly felt a familiar feeling. A sudden clench of fear deep inside her.

_Claustrophobia_, the psychologist had named it.

But Kyra knew different. The symptoms were the same but the reason was different.

Someone had died tonight. Violently and prematurely.

She doubled over, feeling the pain tearing her. Usually the pain manifested itself in s headache but today's was bad. Really bad.

Luckily, she knew the cure. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the apartment, heading for the park near by.

* * *

When she was young, she couldn't explain it. Explain why she felt such a strong connection with nature. She felt safe and in control of her emotions, as though it was reassuring her of something. But until that day, she never understood why. She shivered, blocking that memory from her head.

_Life_. It was life that brought her to nature.

She stood in front of a large tree; it had grown to become her favorite in a small amount of time. Her hand gently caressed it, loving the feel of its uneven grain. This tree was the reason she bought a house so close to the park. She felt a strong energy lying deep within it, stronger than any other energy she had ever encountered before As the cool night wind blew around her, all feelings of fear vanished.

It had always pained her, people dying. She could sense it and to an extent, she would experience the pain they would go through, taking a bit of it away from then to make their passing easier. It wasn't her choice but she wouldn't have it any other way. On her head, she carried the burden of every death she had been around to see, every wrong decision, all the guilt and she knew that if she didn't, the world would have to and she dreaded to think what all that negative energy would do to humanity.

That's why nature comforted her. It was life and it took the pain away. She could be free with it.

After that day, she ran into a forest. She didn't know it but her soul had been damaged, corrupted. That was when she discovered life energy. She had never been able to see it before, but it had always been surrounding her. She looked around. The park was empty at this time as usual.

She lifted her hand towards a young tree. As she slowly walked towards it, she could sense the spirits that dwelled deep within the tree's existence. She closed her eyes, opening her hand wide towards the tree. She only opened them when she felt it. When she felt the ant-sized orbs of yellow energy circling her arm. There were millions, all surrounding her. She felt their bliss and happiness and found that they could bring her own to surface. They always mystified her; she was forever in awe of them. As she looked around she saw more joining the already millions from other trees, from the grass. She could even sense the energy of some powerful memories surrounding her. A first kiss.

But something broke through in her world of happiness. Something dark, something familiar. She whipped her head around, frantically searching the darkness for the source of the disturbance. Though she could not find it, she could sense the darkness growing. She began panicking when she saw the little luminous orbs vanishing, not returning to their home but being consumed by nothingness. She tried to strengthen her connection to them but felt herself dissolving. She lunged towards the large tree, grabbing it to get some stability. She hoped to draw some energy from it. If she failed, she knew she would die.

She felt the connection but it was weak, too weak. But when she decided to run, she found herself glued to the spot. She pulled frantically, sensing the energy reaching her, but it was different, far to alien. She felt fear grip her mind as she felt the darkness invading her mind. She glanced over her shoulder. Seeing darkness for the second time in her life. It was very much like her energy but it was black, hollowing, somehow managing to steal all hope from her.

She closed her eyes feeling it absorbing her as the dark orbs surrounded her. That was when she felt it.

The great tree.

She felt a strange energy touching her and then surrounding her. She felt safe and vulnerable at the same time but she doubted it could be worse than the darkness so she opened herself to the new energy, letting it in.

She regretted it immediately, but feeling far too weak, she allowed it to consume her.

She was surprised to find that she could open her eyes. Or rather, that she still had eyes to open. The first thing she saw was a young tree, not more than ten years old. _Well, at least I'm alive, _she thought bitterly, looking around at her surroundings. She barely had time to acknowledge her green surroundings when she heard a voice booming.

"Really Merlin! You really are an idiot! It's amazing that when I take you along for patrols, you don't mange to have us killed immediately! The first animal we see today and you succeed in scaring it away with your clumsiness!"


	4. Chapter 4

**I forgot to mention, this story is set in that time where Merlin knows that Morgana is evil but no one else does. Uthur is alive :( AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVEIW!**

* * *

"_Really_ Merlin! You really are an idiot! It's amazing that when I take you along for patrols, you don't mange to have us killed immediately! The first animal we see today and you succeed to scare it away with your clumsiness!" Arthur yelled at his manservant who had conveniently slipped in some mud and landed in a bush right when the prince had had his crossbow aimed at a deer.

"I am sorry sire but the grounds are slippery. And don't blame me. You're the one who always says that I ruin the hunting trips. Why bring me along anyway?" Merlin asked with a humorous glint in his eyes, knowing the answer.

"Shut up Merlin!" Arthur hissed.

"Well really-" Merlin began.

"No! Really Merlin, for once in your life, shut up." Arthur said, slightly fed up with his servant. Closely followed by a confused Merlin, Arthur crept downwards, gently pushing bushes out of the way. He had heard a surprised yelp and headed towards the source slowly. He pulled a large bush out of the way, peering over it.

* * *

Kyra regretted ever trying to get up. Sure she was alive but in the process of arriving wherever she had arrived, she had somehow managed to twist her ankle. The second she had heard voices, her first instinct was to flee but she doubted she could go far with her injury. She pulled herself up, leaning on the tree. To her surprise, she found herself attired in a long thin dress, with its red waves flowing down from her hips. The upper part was rather pretty, with threads of yellow and orange weaving intricate patterns. But above all, she fell in love with the sleeves at first sight. They were the sort she'd always wanted, long and drooping, a lot like wings. To her relief, she found that her red gold necklace was still with her.

She could sense that people were near and was very willing to bet that they had heard her cry. She couldn't quite explain what had happened for she didn't know herself. Suddenly worrying, as she had no story, she decided to let that part of her that was a born liar come forward. _That_ Kyra could make the most obnoxious lies seem as the truth. It was somewhat instinctive, _that_ Kyra knew truths and could bend them to her own wish. She was confident in her lies, as though just by speaking them, they became the true. Not that they did, but she did have this ability to make herself fit in, anywhere. So it was in this mode that she had her first meeting with the prince and his servant.

* * *

Arthur saw the girl. She was young and obviously rich from her clothing. He vaguely registered that her beauty was one that easily rivaled Morgana's. He sensed Merlin stiffen besides him but couldn't give much thought to it. He took a shaky step towards the frightened girl, freezing once he saw her expression.

"Who are you?" She demanded. Arthur could tell that she was trying to appear brave. Her voice shook slightly.

"I am Prince Arthur of Camelot and this is my servant Merlin." He said slowly. He was actually worried that the slightest mistake or wrong move on his part would send her running. When he gestured towards Merlin, the servant remained expressionless, searching the woman's face.

"Oh, thank _heavens_!" The woman exclaimed freely, as though removing any reservations she might have had of the men. She fell to the ground, tears springing to her eyes as a smile lit up her face.

Arthur ran to her, crouching by her. Deciding that she was not yet ready to stand, he held her hand and asked of her identity.

"I am Princess Isobel of Isilor." She whispered. Fatigue took over her and her eyelids fluttered shut. Her mouth remained in a smile.

Arthur immediately picked up her limp body and began carrying it back to where the horses were tied up.

"Wait! Where are you taking her?" Merlin questioned with worry, still glancing at the lady.

"Merlin, sometimes, I really do wonder if you have _anything_ at all in that head of yours. We are taking this woman to Camelot. She has clearly been through a trying ordeal and I'm sure Gaius would want to see her." Arthur explained, internally questioning if Merlin's good qualities stood a chance at outweighing his stupidity.

"May I remind you, sire, that Gaius has been out to the outlying villages, fighting a contagious disease?" Merlin reminded, realizing what Arthur would say a second later.

"Well then, you'll just have to care for her. Honestly, did you think that I would leave an unarmed woman in a forest teeming with bandits?" Arthur yelled over his shoulder as he gently placed Princess Isobel on his horse.

* * *

Merlin didn't like it one bit. He didn't trust this woman, whoever she was. He didn't trust who she claimed to be and had even less faith in who she actually was. Something about her reminded him of the girl in his dreams and if she was going to prove to be a danger to Camelot and Arthur, he had to see it. Something about her was just so, fake. He wished Gaius were there. He knew the physician had often been to the far laying kingdom of Isilor and would have undoubtedly provided valuable information on this young _princess_.

Yet something was troubling him. He didn't have the slightest idea as to what though. Something told him that he was wrong but he shut that part out.

He entered the guest chamber in which the _Princess_ had been placed; carrying all that would be needed to help her twisted ankle. With Gaius gone, Arthur had declared him most suitable for tending to the ill, so now it was his job to help the girl. Someone who, for all he knew would bring destruction to Camelot. But his distrust for her vanished when he observed her waking up.

Her brown eyes immediately locked with Merlin's blue ones. Using her elbows, she tried to lift herself up a bit, wincing at the pain that shot through her foot.

"Slow down, you'll only hurt yourself." Merlin scolded lightly, placing his hand gently on her forehead, slightly relieved to find that the fever that she had had was now gone. She relaxed back into her pillows, sighing heavily. Merlin's hands discreetly reached for her foot, touching it to see how sever the injury was. When she gave a short scream, Merlin released her foot.

"I am so sorry! I usually never feel pain as badly as this." The Princess said apologetically, reaching to gently caress her foot.

"No need for apologies my lady. I must apologise. You have, I am sure, been through a lot. I do believe that your foot should be as good as new in a couple of days." Merlin said kindly, suddenly warming up to Isobel. She just felt a lot more real than she had before.

The two of them did not speak again, content in each other's silent company. Merlin handed her a draft that he hoped would hurry the healing process as well as one that would lessen the pain.

Just as he left, he caught sight of her seeping soundly. He felt his heart lighten. Surely his reservations about her were just him being his usual paranoid. She seemed so much more different from when he had first met her. Yet for some reason, some doubt still clung to his mind, refusing to let go. But as it was no longer a warning bell, Merlin decided that he could afford to push it under the rug for a bit.


	5. Chapter 5

**_HEYYYYY, I'm so sorry I __haven't been updating in the last week but my exams are starting and I'm failing Spanish so, yeah. I'll try my best to update again as soon as possible. :)_**

* * *

_This was bad, really bad_. Kyra paced frantically around her room. Her foot had become better within a couple of days and she was making up for its break from walking. She always did think better when pacing and for the last two days, she could have sworn that she was dumber than a carrot. She had had visitors, mostly Merlin just checking in on how she was and Gwen, a servant who had apparently made it her life's duty to serve the 'Princess'.

'_Princess_'! From where had that even come from? Kyra cursed the little evil part of her that lied. Usually all of her past lies were shallow, statements were easily retractable. But 'Princess'? How can someone say, _oh, sorry, I accidentally told you that I was a princess? Why? No clue!_

She had even named the place from where she came from! Kyra sincerely hoped that this whole situation would work out fine; that a background story would just be waiting in her head, ready for her to use. But no matter how hard she thought, she could come up with no reason as to why she was here.

_Here?_

_Where was here?_

_Camelot_! She screamed internally. She couldn't believe it. Camelot was not real. It was just a legendary place where the legendary King Arthur, Merlin and all the others from the legend live. It certainly was not real. It took all of her restraint to avoid accusing 'Merlin' of being a liar and a trickster when he and Arthur were first introduced to her.

Yet something told her that this wasn't true. Something deep inside her yelled at her that this is real, that it had always been real. But if that was true, then the legend seemed messed up. Gwen had been an excellent source of information, giving Kyra all she might need to know about Camelot; be it the laws, customs or superstitions. Upon finding out that magic was banned from Camelot, Kyra nearly sprayed her glass of mead (Kyra remembered that water was horrible in the sixtieth century and seriously doubted that it would be safe for drinking now. Kids then drank alcohol instead of water! Mead was alcohol right . . . ?) all over Gwen. Kyra felt it would be safer to become an alcoholic than die from water). She immediately asked Gwenivere to fetch her some parchment and a quill.

Kyra felt that seeing that her brain was refusing to make sense of this situation, she'd have to rely on good 'ol paper. She started it with things she knew about the legend and things she'd found out from Gwen.

_1. Arthur is the King of a realm called Camelot. –Crown prince at the moment._

_2. Merlin is a sorcerer who helps and teacher Arthur. -Merlin is the manservant. Probably does have magic but since magic is outlawed, most likely practices in secret._

_3. Gwenivere and Arthur get married but she cheats of him with Lancelot.- Gwen did blush when I mentioned Arthur. Maybe . . . 3 :)_

_4. Morgana is a sorceress (evil?). - Arthur's half sister.-She sounds nice. And she grew up with Arthur so she can't be evil. Besides, why would she remain here is she did have magic. She'd be burnt no matter who she was._

_5. Uther is Arthur's dad.- Sounds pretty awful._

_6. Mordred kills Arthur. Arthur kills Mordred. Mordred is Arthur's son or nephew. -No idea where this fits in._

_7. Merlin is immortal.-I doubt ANYONE knows that, if it's even true._

_8. Arthur is supposed to come back from the dead.- He's meant to die first._

_9. Morgana has a half sister; Morgause.-I think she's evil too._

_10. Someone called 'Lady of the Lake' fits into it somehow.- Merlin falls in love with her maybe?_

_11. Gwenivere is the Queen.- She's the servant! How will that __happen?_

Kyra looked over her list in frustration. She's figured out absolutely nothing, except that her life seemed to be messed up. Well, more messed up than usual. And hey, there was always the chance that she was crazy and safely inside the psychiatric unit of some overpriced hospital. Surely anything was better than having to understand the situation she was currently in. She wrapped her arms around her waist, suddenly worried for the first time. What if she was stuck here? She hadn't the slightest idea on how to get back. If she stays here, how can she keep up the lie. Things like that don't stay hidden forever.

A soft hesitating knock pulled her out from her panicking head. She had to remain composed. Like . . . like . . . like a princess. She grabbed her piece of paper and tore it into unrecognizable bits.

"M'lady" Gwen asked softly, entering the room holding folded material in her hands. "I spoke to the Lady Morgana today. Seeing that you don't have anything suitable for tonight, she wished to lend you some clothes." Gwen placed the material down on the bed for Kyra to inspect. She walked slowly to it, immediately suspicious of what the future held.

"Tonight? Is there something special?" She questioned, feeling the chiffon material.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? I do that sometimes. The king wishes to meet you, so in your honor, a welcome feast is being held." Seeing 'Isobel's' pale face, Gwen looked stricken. "You are feeling fine, M'lady? Or are you too unwell?"

Kyra looked at Gwen, forcing herself to calm down. No point in worrying Gwen with something she couldn't possibly understand.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Take the evening off. I believe I shall be able to get myself into this dress myself." Kyra replied, trying to put an encouraging smile on her face.

"If you wish M'lady." Gwen said, returning the smile. She left the room, leaving Kyra alone.

_Dinner with King Uther, who is against all things even vaguely magical sounds fun!_ Kyra thought sarcastically. _I'd love to see what he'd do to me if he got even the faintest idea of who I was._

She carefully lifted the dress, remembering all the times her own grandmother would warn her whenever young Kyra tried to play with her chiffon scarves. She held up the translucent lilac material to her body before she changed behind the screens. When she emerged, she could truly say that she felt like a proper princess. The dress, on first glance, appeared to be a deep purple strapless dress that hugged her body, spreading out into streaks of red and pink at her hips. Her arms and a bit of her neck was covered is lilac chiffon, looking no more than gauze. The sleeves, she was pleased to note were the droopy, butterfly kind. She walked over to the full-length mirror in her room and did a small twirl. She had a feeling that her hair was not suitable for the feast. Not that she could fix that, having no skill whatsoever in hairdressing. _Oh well, this place is stiff enough as it is, might as well let my hair loose_. She took another glance in the mirror, suddenly seeing something that she did not like.

This wasn't her. This wasn't her style. She usually would never go out in something as fancy as this. It wasn't Kyra who looked back at her. It was '_Isobel_'. The girl who had no personality.

_I'll play along tonight but things are going to change_, she thought determinedly.


End file.
